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Algoma Steel
Algoma Steel Inc. (formerly The Algoma Steel Corporation, Limited; Essar Steel Algoma) is an integrated primary steel producer located on the St. Marys River in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. Algoma Steel was founded in 1901 by Francis Clergue, an American entrepreneur who had settled in Sault Ste. Marie. The company is a traditional blast furnace based steel maker that is building an electric arc furnace to produce steel with a lower carbon footprint.
Algoma Steel has been privately owned several times, listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange at least three times; and has been a subsidiary or affiliate of Canadian Pacific Limited (1980s), Dofasco (1988-1991) and Essar Group (2007-2017). Reflecting the challenging environment for Canadian steel makers, Algoma and its predecessor companies have been financially restructured at least four times. Algoma first was in receivership following the Great Depression in 1932; while in recent decades it emerged from bankruptcy protection in 1992 and 2004, and was in creditor protection again in 2015-2018.
In May 2021, it was announced that Algoma "was to become a public company again" as it had agreed a merger with New York–based acquisition firm Legato Merger Corp, which is a NASDAQ-listed special-purpose acquisition company. Following the deal, Algoma listed its shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange for the third time.
The company was incorporated in 1901 and construction of the steelworks started in February of that year. On February 18, 1902, the first Bessemer converter was put in operation using pig iron made from the Helen mine, owned by Algoma. The first rails were produced by the complex in May 1902. However, blast furnaces for pig iron manufacture were not completed at the site until 1904. Unlike most other steel producers, Algoma had no access to local coal, forcing it to import coal and coke from the United States. The Bessemer process was felt to produce steel that was well-suited to manufacture of rails, which was the Algoma complex's primary product for the first two decades of its existence.
Shortly after founding Algoma, Clergue's various financial operations suffered reverses, having to shutter operations in 1903, causing the 1903 Consolidated Lake Superior riot. After restructuring, he lost control of the Sault Ste. Marie complex, being replaced as general manager in 1903 and by 1908 Clergue was no longer on the company's board of directors. Initially, the company specialized in manufacture of rails for Canadian railways, but this soon became a dead-end as railway construction passed its peak.
During the First World War Algoma made steel for artillery shells but after the war continued to rely on rail production. The necessity of importing ore and coal from the United States due to the low quality of Canadian iron ore, as well as the absentee owners' greater interest in annual dividends than building a viable industrial complex, held back Algoma during the 1920s. At the height of the Great Depression, the company was insolvent and in receivership until financier Sir James Dunn, who had had a minority role in the mill's ownership since 1908, gained control in 1935 and restored it to profitability. Dunn's policy of never paying a dividend to stockholders, coupled with extensive modernization and expansion during the Second World War, and an extended period of steel demand up until the mid-1950s, allowed Algoma to expand and become a more balanced steel producer.
Algoma Steel was publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange in the 1980s when Dofasco bought the company from then controlling shareholder Canadian Pacific Limited. Canadian Pacific Ltd. owned 53.8% and they agreed to a total purchase price of CAD $560 million. At the time of the transaction, it was reported that Algoma had 9,000, largely unionized, employees. Dofasco owned Algoma from 1988 to 1991, making the combined company the largest steel producer in Canada. However, Dofasco wrote-off their equity investment less than three years later as Algoma entered a prolonged restructuring process. A strike at Algoma both reduced cash flows and increased costs, contributing to the financial stress of the company.
The high value of the Canadian dollar coupled with competition from mini mills, lower-cost and currency-strong Asian countries and dumping by Japanese companies has hurt Canadian primary steel producers. In 2002, the company emerged from bankruptcy protection for the second time in a decade, having previously gone into bankruptcy in 1990. Denis Turcotte, the President and CEO, was largely credited with Algoma's resurgence, making it one of the most efficient steelmakers in North America.
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Algoma Steel
Algoma Steel Inc. (formerly The Algoma Steel Corporation, Limited; Essar Steel Algoma) is an integrated primary steel producer located on the St. Marys River in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. Algoma Steel was founded in 1901 by Francis Clergue, an American entrepreneur who had settled in Sault Ste. Marie. The company is a traditional blast furnace based steel maker that is building an electric arc furnace to produce steel with a lower carbon footprint.
Algoma Steel has been privately owned several times, listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange at least three times; and has been a subsidiary or affiliate of Canadian Pacific Limited (1980s), Dofasco (1988-1991) and Essar Group (2007-2017). Reflecting the challenging environment for Canadian steel makers, Algoma and its predecessor companies have been financially restructured at least four times. Algoma first was in receivership following the Great Depression in 1932; while in recent decades it emerged from bankruptcy protection in 1992 and 2004, and was in creditor protection again in 2015-2018.
In May 2021, it was announced that Algoma "was to become a public company again" as it had agreed a merger with New York–based acquisition firm Legato Merger Corp, which is a NASDAQ-listed special-purpose acquisition company. Following the deal, Algoma listed its shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange for the third time.
The company was incorporated in 1901 and construction of the steelworks started in February of that year. On February 18, 1902, the first Bessemer converter was put in operation using pig iron made from the Helen mine, owned by Algoma. The first rails were produced by the complex in May 1902. However, blast furnaces for pig iron manufacture were not completed at the site until 1904. Unlike most other steel producers, Algoma had no access to local coal, forcing it to import coal and coke from the United States. The Bessemer process was felt to produce steel that was well-suited to manufacture of rails, which was the Algoma complex's primary product for the first two decades of its existence.
Shortly after founding Algoma, Clergue's various financial operations suffered reverses, having to shutter operations in 1903, causing the 1903 Consolidated Lake Superior riot. After restructuring, he lost control of the Sault Ste. Marie complex, being replaced as general manager in 1903 and by 1908 Clergue was no longer on the company's board of directors. Initially, the company specialized in manufacture of rails for Canadian railways, but this soon became a dead-end as railway construction passed its peak.
During the First World War Algoma made steel for artillery shells but after the war continued to rely on rail production. The necessity of importing ore and coal from the United States due to the low quality of Canadian iron ore, as well as the absentee owners' greater interest in annual dividends than building a viable industrial complex, held back Algoma during the 1920s. At the height of the Great Depression, the company was insolvent and in receivership until financier Sir James Dunn, who had had a minority role in the mill's ownership since 1908, gained control in 1935 and restored it to profitability. Dunn's policy of never paying a dividend to stockholders, coupled with extensive modernization and expansion during the Second World War, and an extended period of steel demand up until the mid-1950s, allowed Algoma to expand and become a more balanced steel producer.
Algoma Steel was publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange in the 1980s when Dofasco bought the company from then controlling shareholder Canadian Pacific Limited. Canadian Pacific Ltd. owned 53.8% and they agreed to a total purchase price of CAD $560 million. At the time of the transaction, it was reported that Algoma had 9,000, largely unionized, employees. Dofasco owned Algoma from 1988 to 1991, making the combined company the largest steel producer in Canada. However, Dofasco wrote-off their equity investment less than three years later as Algoma entered a prolonged restructuring process. A strike at Algoma both reduced cash flows and increased costs, contributing to the financial stress of the company.
The high value of the Canadian dollar coupled with competition from mini mills, lower-cost and currency-strong Asian countries and dumping by Japanese companies has hurt Canadian primary steel producers. In 2002, the company emerged from bankruptcy protection for the second time in a decade, having previously gone into bankruptcy in 1990. Denis Turcotte, the President and CEO, was largely credited with Algoma's resurgence, making it one of the most efficient steelmakers in North America.